Rheem heating and cooling in San Jose is usually a ducted split system, a gas furnace or air handler with an air conditioner or heat pump outside, though some homes have a Rheem packaged unit instead. Furnace repair comes first on this page, then the outdoor side, the fault codes and the paperwork. In most cases one part has failed, and the job is to prove which before anything is replaced.
What Rheem sells
Rheem makes gas furnaces in standard and high-efficiency condensing versions, central air conditioners, heat pumps, air handlers, packaged units and ductless systems. Its EcoNet thermostats can communicate with EcoNet-enabled equipment. Rheem is also well known for water heaters, which are a separate product with their own warranty and registration; this page covers heating and cooling.
Rheem furnace repair: standard or condensing?
The furnace type changes the checklist.
Standard-efficiency furnaces send hot exhaust up a metal flue. A no-heat call usually comes down to the inducer motor, the pressure switch and its hose, the hot surface igniter, the flame sensor, or a limit switch tripped by a clogged filter.
Condensing furnaces pull so much heat from the exhaust that water condenses out of it. They vent through plastic pipe and need a drain, which adds three common faults: a clogged condensate trap that keeps the pressure switch open, a blocked intake or exhaust pipe where it ends outside, and a failed condensate pump. Each one looks like an ignition problem from the thermostat, so the drain and the pipes are checked before parts are changed.
If there is a smell of gas, get everyone out and call from outside. More on furnace repair and on a furnace that will not ignite.
Reading the codes
- Furnace: a light behind the small window in the lower door blinks a pattern or shows a number, and a legend on the door explains it. Film it with your phone for a minute before turning the power off, since a power cycle clears it and some patterns repeat slowly.
- Outdoor unit: many newer Rheem outdoor units have PlusOne Diagnostics, a code display on the control board inside the service panel. The technician reads it with the power on.
- EcoNet thermostat: shows alerts from EcoNet-enabled equipment on its screen.
The outdoor side
Capacitors, contactors and fan motors carry the summer load and fail most often on hot afternoons. A dusty condenser coil raises pressures and speeds all of that up. Units from the R-410A years are repaired and recharged normally; a fading charge means a leak to find, not a top-up. See AC repair.
Warranty records for a mixed-age system
Systems are often replaced in pieces: a new furnace one winter, a new air conditioner a few summers later. Each piece then has its own installation date, serial number, registration and coverage. Keep one folder per piece with the dated invoice, the registration confirmation, the model and serial numbers, and photos of any fault codes from past repairs. Warranty parts come at no charge under the warranty’s terms; the labor is billed. Our company is independent of Rheem and every other manufacturer.
Repair or replace
Sensors, igniters, switches, drains, capacitors and motors are repairs. Replacement is the better conversation when a heat exchanger cracks, since combustion gases can then reach the house air, when the compressor fails on an older outdoor unit, or when repairs keep coming back. If only the furnace has failed and the air conditioner is young, the furnace can usually be replaced on its own. Estimates for new systems are free. Comparing brands? See Rheem vs Trane and Goodman vs Rheem.
Local notes: Santa Teresa
In Santa Teresa, near the hills, microclimates vary, and rooms on the sunny side of a house can run much warmer than the rest. Sizing and thermostat placement matter more than usual there. An EcoNet thermostat on a wall that gets afternoon sun reads high and runs the system too long; one in a shaded hallway can leave the sunny rooms warm. Adding or moving a smart thermostat is covered on our thermostat installation page.